May 2005 Conservation Notes
by
What's wrong with this picture?
Help the Golden Trout Project in October (PFF Work Party)
So have you figured out what's wrong with the picture? At first glance it appears to be a colorful golden trout fooled by a parachute hopper. But if you look closely, that's not a golden trout! It's a golden-rainbow hybrid. The California Golden Trout Project is an ongoing partnership between Trout Unlimited (TU), California Trout (CalTrout) and the Federation of Flyfishers (FFF) to assist the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in a collaborative effort to protect and restore the California Golden Trout. As I've implied, one of the threats is the interbreeding of pure goldens with other sub-species.
The schedule for the Golden Trout Project was posted here last month and distributed at the last club meeting. I have reviewed the list of projects and decided that I will organize a party of rugged PFFers to participate in the Monache Wildlife Area Work Party on October 1 - 2 (Sat and Sun).
They are calling for 15 to 20 volunteers to help with fences and to do an electrofishing survey on the South Fork of the Kern River so I believe we have a good chance of getting a group into this particular event. However, we will have to move quickly. If you are interested in participating, please first read the description of the project and all of the (physical) requirements by downloading the following: description (pdf) file. An online version of the same material is available at the Trout Unlimited California site. You should be in good health and have a bit of camping/backpacking experience.
After reading the description, if you are interested in participating please contact by no later than May 31. Each one of use will need to fill out the questionnaire and sign-up application so please do this and mail me your copy. I will submit all the applications at the end of May together in one batch.
If we are successful, we will probably form a ride-share and drive out to the meeting point leaving Friday morning (Sept 30) and aim to return on Sunday night. Undoubtedly there will be those of you who will want to stay and fish so we will work out those logistics as necessary. By the way, if you read the description carefully, the organizers left a bit of time open for fishing!
Help the golden trout and give something back to our sport. Sign up!
The Trinity Finally Gets Its Water
I was going to focus only on the Golden Trout Project this month, but I wanted to share some great news. After 40 years of water exports from the Trinity River to the central valley (and even further south), some of the water is instead being diverted back to the river. The restoration, ordered by then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in 2000 but stalled by lawsuits until this year, allows about half the Trinity's volume to stay in the 130-mile-long river. Last week the Bureau of Reclamation finally began releasing water in accordance with Babbit's Trinity River Record of Decision. A full description of this momentous event is available in this LA Times article published on May 16.
The extra water is being released to mimic the normal spring flood not seen on the Trinity for the last 40 years. This serves to flushing smolt out to the sea, provide channel maintance, move the gravel in the river around, flush sediment and fine silts out to sea, and restore waters to the downstream aquifers. It is also providing some of the best white water rafting and kayaking in the state as a side effect.
Of course, the high flows make wading dangerous. See this link for a schedule of wate releases from the Lewiston Dam. Flows are scheduled to subside in time for the PFF Trinity River Fishout on July 16.
That's all for this month.
– Rodney